NEW ORLEANS — Businesses, tour guides and citizens are up in arms about a spike in what they're calling aggressive "gutter punks" in the French Quarter, the tourist area of New Orleans.

Facebook groups have formed documenting incidents of harassment. Some say police aren't doing enough to enforce the law, reports WWLTV.

When temperatures drop up north and in other parts of the country, New Orleans starts to see an uptick in transients.

"There are eyewitness accounts of them defecating on the Cabildo, on the church, in doorways. This is human waste, and they don't care," said local New Orleans resident Dawn Carl.

Private Facebook groups have emerged like "Safer Quarters" and "Transient Nola." Members are documenting sightings of "gutter punks" sleeping on sidewalks, aggressively panhandling at intersections and setting up camp overnight sometimes for days in Jackson Square.

"We're not talking about your basic homeless. We're talking about these people who are sitting outside restaurants. They're accosting tourists, they're accosting locals," said Carl.

However, according to Marjorie Esman, executive director of the ACLU of Louisiana, as long as people aren't breaking the law, they are allowed to solicit, loiter or hang out in public spaces. However, she does stress there are aggressive solicitation bans.

"To just be in the neutral ground, to just have a sign that says I'm hungry, to have a dog and be on the neutral ground, all of those things are perfectly legal activities because the streets don't belong to one person as they do to someone else," said Esman.

"If you say no, they can't grab your arm. They can't continue to walk behind you and continue to harass you. But just a simple: 'I'm hungry ,can you spare a dollar?' that's a perfectly legal question to ask someone," she continued.

Local business owners, artists, tour guides and concerned citizens tell Eyewitness News that the New Orleans Police Department isn't enforcing laws that are on the books when it comes to that transient population.

"They're getting more aggressive. They're coming in packs. They have dogs with chains on them. It's intimidating to people walking down the street," said business owner Brad Bohannan. Bohannan said he's been exposed to harassment walking to and from his bars, and so have customers.

"NOPD officers are working aggressively every day to address these types of quality of life issues across the city. When officers observe violations, they are trained to take appropriate action which can include issuing a citation or making an arrest. Residents, business owners and visitors are encouraged to report any violations they see to the NOPD."

"People have this misconception. Where their civil liberties begin, mine end. At the end of the day, I have a right to run a business and the people who come here from out of state have a right to walk down these streets," Bohannan said.